Calf feeder nipple and valve assembly



P 6, 1955 A. F. WILSON ET AL 0 2,717,000

CALF FEEDER NIPPLE AND VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed May 27, 1950 INVENTORS As/z/ey f. Wl/SO/Z By Joseph C/e/nem QW-,M,M

United States Patent CALF FEEDER NIPPLE AND VALVE ASSEMBLY Ashley F. Wilson, Buffalo, and Joseph J. Clement, Williamsville, N. Y., assignors to Lisk-Savory Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application May 27, 1950, Serial No. 164,726 2 Claims. or. 137-343 This invention relates to feeding devices for calves or other animals in the nursing stage.

Calves are commonly taken from cows when quite young, primarily so that the whole milk of the cow is available for marketing. This is generally done when the calf is at an age at which it is not ready for weaning. While calves may in some cases be taught to drink at this age, it is undesirable that they do so, because of harmful effects that such procedure has on the physical development of the calf.

Numerous devices have been proposed in the prior art to facilitate artificial suckling of calves and, in particular, the attachment or securement of nipples to containers such as pails for gravity feeding has previously been proposed.

The present invention provides improved means for feeding calves or other animals in this general manner. An advantage of the use of the apparatus of the general kind contemplated in the present invention resides in the fact that it closely simulates natural feeding.

According to the present invention means are provided which are readily attachable to a pail or similar receptacle and which, when attached, are secure against inadvertent disassembly. While ready attachment is a primary consideration, it must be borne in mind that the pulling and pushing forces which a calf may exert on the nipple in use require that a very secure joint between the nipple and the receptacle be provided.

A further advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that the parts may be quickly disassembled in their entirety and when so disassembled are easy to clean or scour so that entirely sanitary conditions may be maintained. The arrangement of the means of the present invention is such that substantially all of the contents of the pail or like receptacle is available for feeding through the nipple portion of the device without any special conduit means which would complicate the construction and operation of the device.

A single specific form of the present invention is set forth in detail in the accompanying drawing and the following specification by way of example, but it is to be understood that various mechanical modifications may be made in the form of the present invention illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification without departing from the principles of the invention, the latter being limited only as defined in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a general elevational view of a receptacle equipped with one form of the feeding device of the pres ent invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the feeding device portion of the apparatus viewed as in Fig. 1, but on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 3 is a detailed elevational view of the inner end of the feeding device viewed as indicated by the numerals Ill-III of Fig. 2.

Like characters of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing, and the numeral 10 desig- 2,7110% Patented Sept. 6, 1955 nates a receptacle which, in the present instance, is an ordinary sheet metal galvanized pail modified by the provision of an opening in its peripheral wall portion near the bottom of the pail. A sleeve or bushing 11 is assembled in such opening to extend generally inwardly of the wall of the pail, and such assembly may be permanently effected, preferably before the pail is galvanized or otherwise coated, by the provision ofan end flange 12 and an annular bead '13, which elements engage the outer and inner walls of the pail immediately surrounding the opening therein. The opposite or inner end of bushing 11 is provided with an external curl or head 14.

The nipple element of the device, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, comprises a generally hollow cylindrical body portion 15 closed at its outer end as at 16,.excepting for one or more small orifices 17. The number and size of the orifices may vary with varying conditions or with different kinds of food. At its opposite or inner end the nipple element has an end wall formation 20 provided with acentral opening 21 and an annular flange or bead portion 22 which extends radially outwardly and then axially toward the opposite end of the body portion 15 to provide an annular channel for receiving the metal curl 14 of sleeve 11., i

The nipple is assembled by insertingits end portion 16 through sleeve 11 from the inside of the pail or receptacle until the curl'or bead.14 is seated in the annular channel at the inner end of the nipple and subsequent accidental or inadvertent disassembly is prevented byvmeans of a generally cup-shaped metal cap 25, which is pressed over bead 22 and has several marginal indentations 26 which engage over the free ends of bead 22, and as illustrated in Fig. 2 there are three such indentations circumferentially spaced about the skirt of cap 25.

It will be noted that the outer portion of bead 22 exextends inwardly beyond the outer diameter of curl 14, at the left-hand side of curl 14 as viewed in Fig. 2, to locate securely thereover when cap 25 is in assembled position. This inward extension is preferably partly provided for in the initial formation of bead 22 but may be entirely brought about by the contracting effect of cap 25 when it is assembled over the bead 22 of the nipple element. This inward extension thus provides, in effect, an undercut channel for gripping or embracing the curl 14.

As clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the end wall portion of cap 25 flares centrally downwardly, as at 27, and provides an opening 28 at the lower edge of cap 25, so that fluid from pail 10 can reach the opening 21 of the nipple element only through such lower opening, which is quite close to the bottom of the receptacle.

A ball check valve 30 which may be of glass or similar chemically inactive material cooperates with opening 21 to provide a check valve and several protuberances 31 are provided in the inner wall of the cylindrical portion of the nipple element to prevent ball 30 from moving any considerable distance away from opening 21.

It will be clear from the foregoing that when a calf exerts pressure on the walls of the cylindrical portion 15 of the nipple element, as in nursing, such pressure will cause ball check valve 30 to seat in opening 21 at the inner end of the nipple element, thus preventing egress of liquid from the nipple element, excepting through the orifice or orifices 17 at the outer end thereof.

The ball 30 is simply inserted in and removed from the nipple element by pressure thereon which stretches opening 21 to a diameter sufficient to permit passage of the ball 30 therethrough in either direction. The wall about the opening 21 is sufficiently thin and flexible to render such assembly and disassembly easy but the proximity of the end wall portion of the cap prevents accidental disassembly by pressure from within body 15 when the device is fully assembled.

3 Pail 10 may have fixed thereto an inverted U-shaped clip 33, so that the pail may readily be hung from a bar designated 34 in Fig. 1.

What is claimed is: 1. Attachment means for d'etachably securing the end of a flexible tubular member in an aperture in a wall member, said attachment comprising a rigid sleeve ele-' ment disposed in said aperture and extending inwardly of said wall member and having a peripheral bead at its inner end, a flexible tubular member having radially inwardly and outwardly directed marginal flanges at one end and internal annular protuberances spaced axially from said inwardly directed flange, said" outwardly directed flange'having an annular channel'for receiving said sleeve element bead, and a cap element having a rigid annular portion engaging peripherally about said outwardly di-' rected flange to cause the walls of said annular channel to flexibly embrace said sleeve element bead; and an opening therein at its lowerportionwhereby' fluid from within the wallmember enters the tubular member only' adjacent the bottom edge of 'said' cap element, and" a member of circular cross'section adapted to be forced through said inwardly directed flange into said tubular member and adapted to engage said latter flange to control flow of fluid"throug'h"said' tubular member and limited in its outward movement by said protuberances.

2.-Attachment means for detachably securing the end of a flexible tubular member in an aperture in a wall member, said attachment comprising a rigidsleeve element disposed in said aperture and extending inwardly of said wall-member and having a peripheral bead at its inner 'end', a flexible tubular member having radially inwardly and outwardly directed marginal flanges atone end andinternal annular protuberances spaced axially from said inwardly directed flange, said outwardly" directed flange having an annular channel for receiving said sleeve element bead, a ball member adapted to be forced through said'inwardly directed flange into said tubular member to engage said latter flange to control flow through said tubular member and be limited in its outward movement by said p'rotuberances, and a cap element having a rigid annular portion engaging peripherally about said outwardly directed flange to cause the walls of said annular channel to flexibly embrace said sleeve element bead and having an inclined bottom wall portion providing an opening therein at its lower portion whereby fluid from within said wall enters the tubular member only adjacent the bottom edge of said cap element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,089,552 Harris Mar. 10, 1914 1,365,665 Davies Jan. 18, 1921 1,399,828 Traynor Dec. 13, 1921 1,525,314 Mullen- Feb. 3, 1925 1,972,375 Coyner Sept. 4, 1934 1,995,283 Schmitt Mar. 19, 1935 2,055,718 Davis Sept. 29, 1936 2,190,420 Frederick et a1. Feb. 13, 1940 2,280,410 Keltner Apr. 21, 1942 2,360,549 Cooper Oct. 17, 1944 2,535,159 Rhinehart Dec. 26, 1950 2,583,041 Coyner Jan. 22, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 545,447 France July 20, 1922 7,386 Sweden Dec. 19, 1896 10,077 Great Britain 1911 

